We’ve been seeing a lot about Mardi Gras in the last week and it really gave me a taste for some New Orleans inspired food. We were already planning to make a chicken pot pie this week, so I figured that with a few tweaks it could really warm up the cold weather we’ve been having and take us back to the Big Easy.
Start by heating one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Place about a pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs in the pan and sprinkle with salt and half a teaspoon of poultry seasoning. Cook until browned on both sides and there is no pink. Set aside on a plate.
Meanwhile, chop a large onion, red pepper, two stalks of celery, and half a pound of mushrooms. Someone else in the house finished off the celery, so none for us this time around in the pot pie!
Put the vegetables in the pan and cook until they are softened and reduced in volume. Allow all of the liquids to cook off and scrape up any browned bits.
Dice the chicken into small bite sized pieces and add it to the veggies.
Add three tablespoons of flour (or two tablespoons of gluten-free flour blend) and one and a half teaspoons of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. Stir in and allow the flour to cook for a minute.
Add one cup each of chicken broth and half and half. Bring to a boil and allow the gravy to thicken. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Be careful about adding more Tony’s, it has a lot of salt and it’s easy to overdo it. If you want more spice, add some hot sauce or cayenne pepper.
Pour the whole mixture into a
Top the filling with a pie crust. There are several options here. I usually make a fresh crust and my favorite recipe is in this post for Praline Pumpkin Pie. Tonight I was trying to get things done a little quicker and used a premade crust. You can use a rollout refrigerator crust but I’ve never found a gluten-free one. Wholly Wholesome makes a really good crust that you can find in the freezer section. Pop the shell out of the pie pan and place it on top of the filling. I dropped ours and it shattered. In that case, piece it back together on top of the filling (I told you already, no judgment)! Once the crust thaws, roll the edges down and crimp them
If you’re eating it now, bake in a 400º oven for thirty minutes. You can also refrigerate it overnight to cook tomorrow. Set the pie out to return to room temperature for at least thirty minutes and bake at 350º for one hour.
We’re eating ours tonight for dinner, check out our Instagram page to see the final results around 7 PM.
Deep Dish Cajun Chicken Pie
- 1 large onion
- 8 oz mushrooms
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 red sweet pepper
- 1 T butter
- 1 T olive oil
- 3 T flour (or 2 T gluten-free flour blend)
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 t poultry seasoning
- 1 1/2 t Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
- 1 c chicken broth
- 1 c half and half
Heat butter and oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken and sprinkle with salt and the poultry seasoning. Cook until browned on both sides and no longer pink in the center. Place aside on a plate. While the chicken is cooking, dice the vegetables.
In the same skillet, cook the vegetables until they are soft and reduced in volume, cooking of all of the liquid. Meanwhile, dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Add the chicken to the vegetables along with the Creole seasoning and flour. Mix together and cook for one more minute. Add the milk and broth and bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to thicken and adjust seasonings if necessary. Pour the filling into a 2 quart casserole dish and cover with a pie crust.
Bake at 400º for 30 minutes. The pie will hold well overnight. Let it come to room temperature and bake at 350º for one hour.
